Internal combustion engines are supplied with a mixture of air and fuel for combustion within the engine that generates mechanical power. To maximize the power generated by this combustion process, the engine is often equipped with a turbocharged air induction system.
A turbocharged air induction system includes a turbocharger that uses exhaust from the engine to compress air flowing into the engine, thereby forcing more air into a combustion chamber of the engine than the engine could otherwise draw into the combustion chamber. This increased supply of air allows for increased fuelling, resulting in an increased engine power output.
The fuel energy conversion efficiency of an engine depends on many factors, including the efficiency of the engine's turbocharger. Previously proposed turbocharger designs include turbines having separate gas passages formed in their housings. In such turbines, two or more gas passages may be formed in the turbine housing and extend in parallel to one another such that exhaust pulse energy fluctuations from individual engine cylinders firing at different times are preserved as the exhaust gas passes through the turbine. These exhaust pulses can be used to improve the driving function of the turbine and increase its efficiency.
Internal combustion engines also use various systems to reduce certain compounds and substances that are byproducts of the engine's combustion. One such system, which is commonly known as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), is configured to recirculate metered and often cooled exhaust gas into the intake system of the engine. The combustion gases recirculated in this fashion have considerably lower oxygen concentration than the fresh incoming air. The introduction of recirculated gas in the intake system of an engine and its subsequent introduction in the engine cylinders results in lower combustion temperatures being generated in the engine, which in turn reduces the creation of certain combustion byproducts, such as compounds containing oxygen and nitrogen.
One known configuration for an EGR system used on turbocharged engines is commonly referred to as a high pressure EGR system. The high pressure designation is based on the locations in the engine intake and exhaust systems between which exhaust gas is recirculated. In a high pressure EGR system (HP-EGR), exhaust gas is removed from the exhaust system from a location upstream of a turbine and is delivered to the intake system at a location downstream of a compressor. When entering the intake system, the recirculated exhaust gas mixes with fuel and fresh air from the compressor and enters the engine's cylinders for combustion.
In engines lacking specialized components, such as pumps, that promote the flow of EGR gas between the exhaust and intake systems of the engine, the maximum possible flow rate of EGR gas through the EGR system will depend on the pressure difference between the exhaust and intake systems of the engine. This pressure difference is commonly referred to as the EGR driving pressure. It is often the case that engines require a higher flow of EGR gas than what is possible based on the EGR driving pressure present during engine operation.
In the past, various solutions have been proposed to selectively adjust the EGR driving pressure in turbocharged engines. One such solution has been the use of variable nozzle or variable geometry turbines. A variable nozzle turbine includes moveable blades disposed around the turbine wheel. Motion of the vanes changes the effective flow rate of the turbine and thus, in one aspect, creates a restriction that increases the pressure of the engine's exhaust system during operation. The increased exhaust gas pressure of the engine results in an increased EGR driving pressure, which in turn facilitates the increased flow capability of EGR gas in the engine.
Although this and other known solutions to increase the EGR gas flow capability of an engine have been successful and have been widely used in the past, they require use of a variable geometry turbine, which is a relatively expensive device that includes moving parts operating in a harsh environment. Moreover, variable geometry turbines typically destroy or mute the pulse energy of the exhaust gas stream of the engine, which results in lower turbine efficiency and higher fuel consumption.